Ever Feel Like Your Throat Is On Fire From Spicy Food? This Guy Had It Much Worse

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a big fan of spicy foods.

When it comes to food, my motto is “the hotter, the better.” Plus, eating spicy foods is a great way to clear out the sinuses and even detox the pores. But even as a heat and spicy enthusiast, I still have my breaking point. And it’s a good thing that I do, because in some cases, too much heat can be detrimental to your health. One man in California has found that out the hard way.

The man was taking part in an eating contest in San Francisco where he ate a hamburger topped with a ghost pepper purée.

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The ghost pepper is considered to be one of the hottest peppers in the world. It ranks in at around 1,000,000 units on the Scoville scale, which is used to measure a pepper’s heat value.

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After eating the burger, the man began vomiting uncontrollably. To try to quell the heat, he drank at least six glasses of water before calling for medical help.

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The man was rushed to an emergency room at UCSF Medical Center. There, doctors discovered that he had a one-inch hole in his distal esophagus. A collection of food debris and an overabundance of air in his chest had also caused his lungs to collapse.

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The man’s condition kept him in the hospital for 23 days, and when he was released, he was sent home with a gastric tube in place.

UCSF associate professor of emergency medicine Craig Smollin noted that while the man’s consumption of the pepper had caused a minor tear, it was his reaction that resulted in the severe nature of his injuries.